President Obama has declared the area of Colorado a disaster as floods continue to wash out homes and roads, stranding residents who will now be left to find food and shelter on their own, having ignored warnings to evacuate.
By Nina Golgowski / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, September 15, 2013, 11:36 AM
ABC
Parents embrace a group of 85 students from Fireside Elementary School
that was stranded when the roads beneath their campsite got washed out
by floods.
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Scores of fifth-graders once feared lost to Colorado's deadly flood
waters were reunited with their parents Saturday after a field trip to
the mountains turned into a harrowing three-day rescue involving the
National Guard.
The parents of 85 students from Fireside Elementary School in Louisville couldn't get their arms around their children fast enough after heavy rains trapped the group Wednesday in the mountains of Jamestown.
"Every time you watch the news it's really hard not to burst into tears," one overjoyed mother told NBC outside the line of school buses.
The children and 14 adult chaperones got stranded when pouring rain washed out the roads below their CalWood campsite.
"Some parts of it were really scary, and the trails were basically
rivers," a student since reunited with her family recounted to NBC.
RELATED: COLORADO FLOODS: RESCUES ACCELERATE, MORE RAIN EXPECTED
A request for help from the National Guard brought in seven helicopters, including four Blackhawks, to transport the group to safety.
But for many other residents affected by the floor waters, relief has yet to come.
More than 500 were still unaccounted for Sunday morning and with more
bad weather expected, as much as 4 inches by the afternoon, officials
are urging residents to get out while they still can.
"The problem now is relatively little additional rainfall may trigger additional flash flooding," said Weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "With more areas of rain and scattered thunderstorms expected this weekend, a quick inch or so of rain in less than one hour may cause additional rises on already swollen creeks and rivers."
The latest estimation of flood victims comes after President Obama's order of federal aid to the washed-out state Saturday night, making federal funding available to affected individuals in Boulder County.
RELATED: EVACUATE! DEATH TOLL IN COLORADO FLOODS RISES TO 4 AS AUTHORITIES WARN THOUSANDS TO FLEE
Rescue teams say that residents who disobey warnings to evacuate may
face weeks without electricity, running water and basic supplies.
Rescuers further won't go back for people who insist on staying, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
Four people have been confirmed dead since the storm broke Wednesday.
Two fatalities were identified Saturday as Wesley Quinlan and Wiyanna Nelson, both 19. Authorities believe the couple died when they were swept away after driving into floodwaters and then abandoning their vehicle. Their cause of death is under investigation.
Hundreds of others have not been heard from in the flood zone, which
has grown to cover portions of an area nearly the size of Connecticut.
RELATED: THREE DEAD AS FLASH FLOODING IN COLORADO RAVAGES TOWNS, PARTIALLY CLOSES UNIVERSITY
By Saturday night, 1,750 people and 300 pets had been evacuated from Boulder and Larimer counties, National Guard Lt. James Goff said.
Helicopters and truck convoys of the National Guard went into paralyzed canyon communities Saturday where thousands of stranded residents were eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills.
Among those assisting was Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper who while
touring the foothill's destruction with the state's congressional
delegation in his helicopter spotted two groups of six people total in
need of rescuing.
The governor's helicopter stopped to pick them up and transport them to safety.
"Congressman (Cory) Gardner, clearly with the best eyes of any of us, saw some civilians waving, trying to get rescued," Hickenlooper said at a following press conference Saturday.
RELATED: 70-YEAR-OLD RESCUED FROM COLORADO MUDSLIDE
In hard hit Jamestown, where the students were rescued Saturday, dozens of people wanted to stay to watch over their homes.
"We're not trying to force anyone from their home. We're not trying to be forceful, but we're trying to be very factual and definitive about the consequences of their decision, and we hope that they will come down," Pelle said.
Special education teacher Brian Shultz, 38, was torn about leaving his Jamestown home.
"I was thinking about staying. I could have lasted at least a year. I have a lot of training in wilderness survival," he said, adding that he probably had enough beer to last the whole time.
As he sat outside a makeshift shelter at a high school, Shultz floated the idea of walking back into the funky mountain town.
RELATED: COLORADO FLOODS TRIGGER MUDSLIDE, LEAVE ONE DEAD AND THREE MISSING
"If we hike back, I would stay there and just live. I'd rather be at our own house than staying at some other people's houses," he said. His wife, Meagan Harrington, gave him a wry smile.
About 10 of their neighbors declined to evacuate, she said.
"They said they wouldn't force you, but it was strongly encouraged," she said. Shultz teared up behind his sunglasses as he compared his situation to that of his neighbors.
"At least all of our stuff's there and will be there when we get back. The people right by the river, their houses were washed away. Other people thought their houses were going to be OK, and then they started to go. It's just really devastating."
Across the foothills, rescuers made progress against the floodwaters.
But they were still unable to go up many narrow canyon roads that were either underwater or washed out.
A woman was missing and presumed dead after witnesses saw floodwaters from the Big Thompson River destroy her home in the Cedar Cove area, Larimer County sheriff's spokesman John Schulz said.
"I expect that we're going to continue to receive reports of confirmed missing and confirmed fatalities throughout the next several days," he said.
ngolgowski@nydailynews.com
The parents of 85 students from Fireside Elementary School in Louisville couldn't get their arms around their children fast enough after heavy rains trapped the group Wednesday in the mountains of Jamestown.
"Every time you watch the news it's really hard not to burst into tears," one overjoyed mother told NBC outside the line of school buses.
The children and 14 adult chaperones got stranded when pouring rain washed out the roads below their CalWood campsite.
ABC
Parents hug their kids from Louisville, Colo., after they are rescued from flood waters.
RELATED: COLORADO FLOODS: RESCUES ACCELERATE, MORE RAIN EXPECTED
A request for help from the National Guard brought in seven helicopters, including four Blackhawks, to transport the group to safety.
But for many other residents affected by the floor waters, relief has yet to come.
ABC
A mother is reunited with her child after the schoolchildren were airlifted to safety.
"The problem now is relatively little additional rainfall may trigger additional flash flooding," said Weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "With more areas of rain and scattered thunderstorms expected this weekend, a quick inch or so of rain in less than one hour may cause additional rises on already swollen creeks and rivers."
The latest estimation of flood victims comes after President Obama's order of federal aid to the washed-out state Saturday night, making federal funding available to affected individuals in Boulder County.
RELATED: EVACUATE! DEATH TOLL IN COLORADO FLOODS RISES TO 4 AS AUTHORITIES WARN THOUSANDS TO FLEE
ABC
A request for help from the National Guard brought in seven helicopters, including four Blackhawks, to transport the group to safety.
Rescuers further won't go back for people who insist on staying, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
Two fatalities were identified Saturday as Wesley Quinlan and Wiyanna Nelson, both 19. Authorities believe the couple died when they were swept away after driving into floodwaters and then abandoning their vehicle. Their cause of death is under investigation.
Jeremy Papasso/AP
An unidentified woman carries two children to safety as the Juniper Valley Fire Crew evacuates residents Saturday in Boulder.
RELATED: THREE DEAD AS FLASH FLOODING IN COLORADO RAVAGES TOWNS, PARTIALLY CLOSES UNIVERSITY
By Saturday night, 1,750 people and 300 pets had been evacuated from Boulder and Larimer counties, National Guard Lt. James Goff said.
Helicopters and truck convoys of the National Guard went into paralyzed canyon communities Saturday where thousands of stranded residents were eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills.
JEREMY PAPASSO/AP
A mud slide took out a car Saturday on Olde Stage Road in Boulder, Colo.
The governor's helicopter stopped to pick them up and transport them to safety.
"Congressman (Cory) Gardner, clearly with the best eyes of any of us, saw some civilians waving, trying to get rescued," Hickenlooper said at a following press conference Saturday.
RELATED: 70-YEAR-OLD RESCUED FROM COLORADO MUDSLIDE
JEREMY PAPASSO/AP
Brian Montgomery works to clean up the mud in his mother's flooded basement Saturday as rescuers rushed by land and by air to evacuate Colorado residents stranded by floods.
"We're not trying to force anyone from their home. We're not trying to be forceful, but we're trying to be very factual and definitive about the consequences of their decision, and we hope that they will come down," Pelle said.
Special education teacher Brian Shultz, 38, was torn about leaving his Jamestown home.
"I was thinking about staying. I could have lasted at least a year. I have a lot of training in wilderness survival," he said, adding that he probably had enough beer to last the whole time.
JEREMY PAPASSO/AP
Floods turn Lefthand Canyon Drive into a river Saturday in Boulder, Colo.
RELATED: COLORADO FLOODS TRIGGER MUDSLIDE, LEAVE ONE DEAD AND THREE MISSING
"If we hike back, I would stay there and just live. I'd rather be at our own house than staying at some other people's houses," he said. His wife, Meagan Harrington, gave him a wry smile.
About 10 of their neighbors declined to evacuate, she said.
"They said they wouldn't force you, but it was strongly encouraged," she said. Shultz teared up behind his sunglasses as he compared his situation to that of his neighbors.
"At least all of our stuff's there and will be there when we get back. The people right by the river, their houses were washed away. Other people thought their houses were going to be OK, and then they started to go. It's just really devastating."
Across the foothills, rescuers made progress against the floodwaters.
But they were still unable to go up many narrow canyon roads that were either underwater or washed out.
A woman was missing and presumed dead after witnesses saw floodwaters from the Big Thompson River destroy her home in the Cedar Cove area, Larimer County sheriff's spokesman John Schulz said.
"I expect that we're going to continue to receive reports of confirmed missing and confirmed fatalities throughout the next several days," he said.
ngolgowski@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/colorado-fifth-graders-rescued-deadly-floods-article-1.1456596#ixzz2eyfLqxgd
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